Face analysis

High cheekbones: what shapes them and what changes

High cheekbones sit high on the face, project forward, and have a slight hollow beneath them. They give structure to the middle of the face, and people of every gender want them. Bone sets the base, but body fat, skin and a few simple habits change how visible they are.

Updated November 7, 2026 · By Julien Rayes · Version française

What makes cheekbones stand out

• The zygomatic bone: its width and height, which come from your genetics.
• Cheek fat: with less fat, the hollow under the cheekbone appears and the cheekbone stands out.
• The ogee curve: the S-shaped line of the cheek, seen from three-quarters, running from the cheekbone down the cheek.
• Age: over the years the tissues descend and the middle of the face hollows out.

What works without injections

• 💪 Lower your body fat: it changes cheekbone visibility more than anything else.
• Cut back on salt and alcohol and sleep well, for a less puffy face.
• A cut with layers or a taper that starts at cheekbone height.
• For men, a short, neat beard that clears the top of the cheeks.

Makeup that brings them out

💄 Apply a matte contour just under the bone, from the middle of the ear toward the corner of the mouth, without going too low. Add a highlighter on the top of the cheekbone and sweep blush up toward the temple. Check the result in daylight.

Face exercises: what we know

Face yoga and cheek exercises are popular. Studies are few and small. They may have a modest effect on cheek firmness, but they don't change the bone and can't replace fat loss.

Minimally invasive options, with a doctor

Hyaluronic acid injections on the cheekbone can project and lift it. This is a medical procedure: talk to a qualified doctor, who will assess the amount, the risks and the realistic result. GlowUpTogether never recommends surgery. ⚠️

Measuring your cheekbones

The GlowUpTogether scan measures the prominence and height of your cheekbones on your photos, along with their symmetry and the curve of your cheeks. It then ranks the actions that would help most in your case.

What our measurements show

Across the 78 adult faces we measured, the cheekbones are always the widest part of the face, ahead of the jaw (88% of their width on average) and the temples (83%).

So "prominent" cheekbones are no wider than average. The hollow below them is what makes them stand out, and it depends on cheek fat and age.

Measured on November 3, 2026 by the GlowUpTogether engine on 78 compliant front-facing photos (out of 102) from the Face Research Lab London Set (DeBruine and Jones, CC BY 4.0 license): 34 women and 44 men, median age 25. Method and limits (in French).

Frequently asked questions

How can you get high cheekbones naturally?

Lower your body fat, limit what puffs up the face (salt, alcohol, lack of sleep) and pick a cut that shows them off. Makeup can sketch them in a few minutes.

Are high cheekbones genetic?

The bone is. How visible they are depends heavily on cheek fat, though, and that can change.

Does face yoga work?

The evidence is weak. At best it has a modest effect on cheek firmness, with no change to the bone.